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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pit — in a race
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — army training
  8. staff — employees
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. face — to confront
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. saw — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stem — to come from
  17. perch — the fish
  18. staff — a stick
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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