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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 124 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. roll — a cake
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. staff — employees
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. row — a line
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stem — to come from
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — to paddle
  22. roll — a list
  23. lie — to recline
  24. roll — on a roll

Multiple-meaning words list

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

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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