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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. can — a tin
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. content — happy
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — the animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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