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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fine — high quality
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — the arms race
  15. staff — a stick
  16. band — a music group
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. race — humankind
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. race — a contest
  23. fine — all right
  24. prune — the fruit

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