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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. board — to get on
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tear — to rip
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spell — a short time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — employees
  13. tear — from crying
  14. content — happy
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. staff — a stick
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — the amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — magic

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