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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. swing — to play on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. suit — clothes
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. suit — to fit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. staff — employees
  12. suit — in cards
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. firm — steady
  17. staff — a stick
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. firm — a company
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. firm — decided
  24. swing — music

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