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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a city
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. shower — rain
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. hand — in cards
  10. board — to get on
  11. cue — a hint
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. hand — help
  15. cue — a signal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cue — for pool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. staff — a stick
  24. capital — money

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