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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — to get on
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — to wash
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. last — to go on
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. track — to keep track
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fall — the season
  19. board — a committee
  20. track — a song
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. fall — to drop

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