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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rash — a series
  3. staff — a stick
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. ground — a position
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rest — a break
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — a coil
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spring — the season
  19. staff — employees
  20. ground — crushed
  21. staff — employees
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — of water

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