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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. cue — a hint
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — to paddle
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cue — for pool
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. suit — in cards
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — shares
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — a line
  22. stock — goods
  23. ground — crushed
  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