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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. staff — employees
  4. rash — a series
  5. present — a gift
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. present — there
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rock — music
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chest — of your body
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — a box
  17. present — the time now
  18. band — a ring
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. band — a music group
  24. cell — in biology

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