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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chest — of your body
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bank — for money
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — help
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. staff — a stick
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — happy
  22. stand — to bear
  23. bank — for money
  24. stand — on your feet

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