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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — a match
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — for sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. firm — a company
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — to wash
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — farmland
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. staff — a stick

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