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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — a skill
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pop — music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — the earth
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pop — soda
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. pop — to visit
  15. march — the month
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. ground — a position
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ground — crushed
  22. game — a match
  23. march — music
  24. staff — a stick

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