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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mug — a face
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — a position
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. last — final
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mug — to rob
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. staff — a stick
  19. game — a match
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. staff — employees
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ground — the earth

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