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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. perch — the fish
  5. hand — help
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — in cards
  8. staff — employees
  9. rash — a series
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. staff — a stick
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. dip — a sauce

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