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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — ground
  4. charge — electricity
  5. mate — to breed
  6. file — a line of people
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. land — to come down
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. charge — a price
  15. staff — employees
  16. pop — music
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bass — low music
  19. file — a tool
  20. mate — a friend
  21. staff — a stick
  22. land — a country
  23. charge — in control
  24. file — a document

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