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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. track — a path
  3. rash — hasty
  4. spring — of water
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. track — a song
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spring — the season
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. bass — low music
  20. track — to keep track
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rash — a series

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