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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — in football
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wound — an injury
  12. drill — a practice
  13. staff — employees
  14. mug — a face
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mug — to rob
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — a match
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. drill — army training

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