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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. staff — employees
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. present — the time now
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. present — a gift
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rest — a break
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. file — a line of people

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