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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chest — a box
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mug — a face
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. staff — a stick
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cell — in biology
  23. staff — employees
  24. cell — a phone

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