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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — to come down
  3. fine — high quality
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. staff — a stick
  6. snap — to click
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — ground
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — to crush
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. race — humankind
  16. staff — employees
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tear — from crying
  20. toast — bread
  21. fine — all right
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the sport
  24. land — a country

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