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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pop — to visit
  3. squash — to crush
  4. branch — a division
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pop — soda
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pop — music
  16. chip — for betting
  17. staff — employees
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. key — in music
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chip — in a computer

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