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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bass — low music
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. staff — employees
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — farmland
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — a box
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — the fish
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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