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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wake — a trail
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. staff — employees
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pound — for dogs

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