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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cue — a signal
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — a stick
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. march — music
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cue — for pool
  19. staff — employees
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cue — a hint
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pound — to hit hard

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