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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — hasty
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. capital — money
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. current — electric
  12. sharp — clever
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. current — happening now
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — government
  22. current — of water
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rash — a series

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