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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. board — a committee
  3. spring — of water
  4. land — a country
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. staff — a stick
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. staff — employees
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. hand — help
  19. spring — the season
  20. land — ground
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fork — in a road

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