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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — to go on
  3. pit — in a race
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. last — finally
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. game — a match
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — the animal
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. last — final
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bat — for baseball

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