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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. track — a path
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. staff — a stick
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. spring — a coil
  13. shower — to wash
  14. staff — employees
  15. face — to confront
  16. track — a song
  17. shower — rain
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spring — the season

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