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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bore — to tire
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. shower — rain
  12. chip — to eat
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lean — thin
  15. bore — to drill
  16. band — a ring
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a music group
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. hand — in cards
  24. staff — employees

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