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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bound — obliged
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — of water
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bound — tied together
  11. spring — the season
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spell — letters
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — child
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. staff — employees
  24. bound — certain

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