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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. land — to come down
  4. drill — a practice
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — a country
  11. drill — army training
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. staff — a stick
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. capital — a city
  23. mark — a grade
  24. straw — dry grass

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