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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rash — hasty
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — for light
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. rash — a series
  16. staff — employees
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — an explosive

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