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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — child
  5. saw — the tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cell — a phone
  16. branch — a division
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cue — a hint
  19. staff — employees
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cue — for pool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cue — a signal
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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