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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — to come down
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. court — of a king
  7. row — a line
  8. present — a gift
  9. court — for sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — a country
  13. rest — what's left
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. land — ground
  16. board — a committee
  17. present — the time now
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — of law
  21. rest — a break
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. present — there
  24. row — to paddle

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