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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — a partner
  3. court — for sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bound — certain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bound — tied together
  12. court — of law
  13. club — a group
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — to breed
  16. court — of a king
  17. staff — employees
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. bound — obliged

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