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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. staff — employees
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — of water
  9. staff — a stick
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — after costs
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — electric
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. net — in sport
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. net — for catching
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — help
  24. lean — to bend

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