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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bass — low music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. track — a path
  15. branch — a division
  16. staff — employees
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. game — a match
  20. staff — a stick
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. mark — a grade
  24. track — to keep track

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