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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — a match
  3. staff — employees
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. date — the fruit
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. staff — a stick
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. file — a line of people

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