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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. season — of the year
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chip — to eat
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chip — for betting
  18. season — in sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a ring
  22. field — farmland
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — for sport

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