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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. press — newspapers
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — in biology
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. press — to push
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. land — to come down

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