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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cell — a phone
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. spring — of water
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. staff — employees
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — bread
  18. swing — music
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kick — in football

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