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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. ground — a position
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spring — the season
  12. staff — employees
  13. saw — the tool
  14. staff — a stick
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — to tire
  20. root — of a plant
  21. swing — to play on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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