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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. craft — boats
  5. perch — the fish
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mug — a cup
  8. key — the most important part
  9. spring — the season
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. staff — a stick
  17. craft — a skill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. staff — employees
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com