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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. staff — a stick
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wound — an injury
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fork — in a road
  21. firm — decided
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — an amount

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