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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. band — a ring
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — a city
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. game — a match
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bark — to shout
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — the sport
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a music group

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