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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — of a plant
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rock — a stone
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mate — to breed
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rock — music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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