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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. swing — in golf
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. net — after costs
  9. cue — a hint
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cue — a signal
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. staff — employees
  15. land — a country
  16. swing — to play on
  17. net — in sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cue — for pool
  24. season — of the year

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