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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. season — in sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. scale — size or range
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. scale — in music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. staff — a stick
  19. season — of the year
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rest — a break
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — to rip

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