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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stock — goods
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — farmland
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ball — a great time
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. staff — employees
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stock — shares
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. field — a subject
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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