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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — employees
  3. track — a song
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — employees
  6. game — wild animals
  7. firm — decided
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — army training
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. firm — a company
  17. track — to keep track
  18. spell — letters
  19. track — a path
  20. pit — a hole
  21. drill — a practice
  22. staff — a stick
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pit — in a race

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