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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. root — of a word
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. scale — in music
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chair — a leader
  22. band — a music group
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. band — a ring

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