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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. foot — a measure
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. march — the month
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. wound — an injury
  7. current — of water
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. current — electric
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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