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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. staff — employees
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a line of people
  14. season — of the year
  15. board — a committee
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. perch — the fish
  20. board — to get on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a tool
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. file — a document

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