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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. race — a contest
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — of water
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. staff — a stick
  10. kick — in football
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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