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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bore — to drill
  6. board — a committee
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — a city
  12. board — to get on
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. land — ground
  18. bore — to tire
  19. staff — employees
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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