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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. staff — employees
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — for catching
  6. staff — a stick
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. net — after costs
  10. kid — child
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. saw — the tool
  15. date — the fruit
  16. net — in sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mate — a partner
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — to breed
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. saw — the tool

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