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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. club — for dancing
  3. race — a contest
  4. object — a thing
  5. chest — of your body
  6. root — of a word
  7. staff — employees
  8. mate — a friend
  9. root — the cause
  10. mate — to breed
  11. club — for golf
  12. root — of a plant
  13. race — the arms race
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mate — a partner
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chest — a box
  19. object — to protest
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — an aim
  22. club — a group
  23. swing — music
  24. race — humankind

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