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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. season — of the year
  3. ground — a position
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. season — to add flavour

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