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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. shower — to wash
  3. staff — employees
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. shower — rain
  6. present — there
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. root — of a word
  9. staff — a stick
  10. root — the cause
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. present — a gift
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. root — of a plant
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lash — to lash out

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