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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a match
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — an amount
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fine — all right
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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