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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fine — all right
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. shower — to wash
  8. roll — a list
  9. fall — to drop
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fall — to drop
  12. staff — employees
  13. root — of a plant
  14. shower — rain
  15. root — the cause
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fall — the season
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fine — high quality
  21. root — of a word
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rash — a series
  24. roll — a cake

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