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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — help
  3. roll — a list
  4. staff — employees
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fall — the season
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. net — after costs
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. net — in sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — for catching

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