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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 116 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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. court — of law
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cap — of ice
  8. race — humankind
  9. court — of a king
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. court — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cap — a hat
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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