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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. can — to be able to
  5. spring — the season
  6. can — a tin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — a tin
  9. bore — to tire
  10. staff — employees
  11. club — for golf
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — a hat
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. spring — of water
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cap — of ice

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