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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lean — thin
  3. ground — crushed
  4. staff — employees
  5. rest — a break
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to sink
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. staff — employees
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. branch — a division
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — a sauce

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