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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. staff — a stick
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. band — a ring
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — of the year
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — clothes
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — the tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. suit — to fit
  20. season — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. band — a music group
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. sharp — clever

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