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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — ground
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — the season
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. land — to come down
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. chip — to eat
  18. content — happy
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — a country
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. staff — a stick
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. content — videos and posts

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