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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — in music
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bound — tied together
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — a stick
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. capital — money
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bound — certain
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rush — hurry
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. nail — for a hammer

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