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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — music
  3. mug — a face
  4. spring — of water
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cell — in biology
  7. staff — employees
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — a stone
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — the season
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. mug — to rob
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mug — a cup

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