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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cell — in biology
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mark — to pay attention

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