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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bass — low music
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spring — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — of water
  13. bore — to drill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bore — to tire
  21. staff — a stick
  22. perch — the fish
  23. staff — employees
  24. mine — for digging

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