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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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. tear — to rip
  4. rest — what's left
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. file — a document
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rest — a break
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — in cards
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tear — from crying
  24. staff — employees

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