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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. season — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stand — to bear
  13. chest — a box
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — of the year
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a grade
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fall — to drop

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