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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. hand — help
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — rain
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stand — to bear
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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