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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. staff — a stick
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pound — a weight
  7. game — a match
  8. bear — the animal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. staff — employees
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. race — a contest
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. race — humankind
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. race — the arms race
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. game — wild animals
  24. trunk — of a tree

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