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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rock — music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. staff — a stick
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — employees
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. object — to protest
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. object — an aim
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. object — a thing
  24. rock — a stone

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