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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cap — a hat
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. staff — employees
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a match
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cap — a lid
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bore — to drill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — in music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — size or range

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