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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. club — for golf
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — a skill
  5. club — a group
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. race — humankind
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fall — the season
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. staff — a stick
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pound — a weight
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chip — for betting

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