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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rest — a break
  3. club — a group
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — a stick
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. staff — employees
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — for dancing
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rest — what's left
  15. club — for golf
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. game — wild animals
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rule — government
  21. game — a match
  22. rule — a law
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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