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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — music
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pop — soda
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — a break
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tube — a container
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a leader

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