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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mug — a face
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. hand — help
  9. rest — what's left
  10. staff — a stick
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bound — certain
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bound — tied together
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rest — a break
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rest — what's left

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