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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. club — for golf
  4. degree — from a university
  5. game — a match
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bound — certain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — an amount
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — money
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. capital — a city
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bound — tied together
  23. staff — employees
  24. bound — obliged

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