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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. drill — the tool
  6. staff — a stick
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. drill — army training
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. staff — employees
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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