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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — of water
  4. firm — steady
  5. spring — a coil
  6. staff — a stick
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chair — a leader
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. firm — a company
  18. staff — employees
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — crushed
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. firm — decided
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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