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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. chip — to eat
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — to come down
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bark — to shout
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — of water
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — the season
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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