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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. cold — an illness
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — a country
  5. present — the time now
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — ground
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — to come down
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. present — there
  23. wound — an injury
  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