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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. court — for sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — of water
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rash — a series
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rash — hasty
  19. staff — a stick
  20. spring — the season
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. court — of a king
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. court — of law

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