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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — a series
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — to tease
  6. land — ground
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. rash — hasty
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. staff — a stick
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. staff — employees
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. kid — child

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