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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. court — of a king
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. row — a line
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. court — for sport
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of law
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mark — a grade

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