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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cell — a phone
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bore — to drill
  16. march — the month
  17. bulb — for light
  18. staff — employees
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bat — for baseball

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