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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. mug — a face
  3. staff — employees
  4. drill — the tool
  5. staff — a stick
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — a match
  9. drill — army training
  10. mug — to rob
  11. game — wild animals
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. drill — a practice
  14. file — a tool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. staff — employees
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pit — a hole
  20. file — a document
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rock — music
  24. file — a line of people

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