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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. present — there
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. present — the time now
  9. tube — the underground
  10. staff — employees
  11. last — final
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pop — music
  14. land — to come down
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. last — to go on
  21. present — a gift
  22. land — ground
  23. tube — a container
  24. staff — employees

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