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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — in sport
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rest — a break
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. rash — hasty
  21. staff — employees
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rest — what's left
  24. roll — a list

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