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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. spring — a coil
  6. last — finally
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. bass — the fish
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bass — low music
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fine — all right
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. last — to go on
  24. staff — a stick

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