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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — to come down
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. board — to get on
  14. staff — employees
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. land — ground
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. key — in music
  22. board — a committee
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wind — moving air

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