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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pitch — completely
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fall — the season
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. fall — to drop
  24. staff — employees

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