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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — a short time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. ground — a position
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. staff — employees
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chest — a box
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. staff — a stick
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — to turn a key

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