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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — a partner
  3. key — for a lock
  4. snap — to click
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. board — to get on
  12. key — the most important part
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mate — a friend
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — music
  17. key — in music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bear — the animal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — from crying

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