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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pass — a permit
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. season — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. staff — employees
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. track — a song
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. track — a path
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — of the year

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