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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. can — a tin
  6. spring — of water
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bore — to drill
  9. ground — a position
  10. bore — to tire
  11. can — a tin
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spring — the season
  24. bore — gave birth

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