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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — a country
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kick — in football
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. staff — employees
  24. fan — to cool the air

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