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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — from a university
  3. staff — employees
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rest — what's left
  6. squash — the sport
  7. branch — a division
  8. degree — temperature
  9. staff — a stick
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. rest — what's left
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. degree — an amount
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rest — a break
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. branch — of a tree

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