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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — a practice
  5. field — for sport
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. drill — the tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. field — a subject
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — army training
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — rain
  24. field — farmland

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