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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. spell — letters
  5. board — to get on
  6. object — an aim
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. date — the fruit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lean — thin
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. staff — a stick
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. board — a committee
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — to wash

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