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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. march — music
  6. staff — employees
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. spring — the season
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rush — hurry
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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