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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pop — music
  4. staff — a stick
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. pop — soda
  8. last — final
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. suit — to fit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. suit — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — to paddle
  18. suit — clothes
  19. pop — to visit
  20. game — wild animals
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a match

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