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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — the season
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. file — a document
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. file — a line of people
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — music
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. ground — crushed
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — a stick

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