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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — the amount
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — final
  7. band — a ring
  8. rash — hasty
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. content — happy
  14. last — to go on
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. band — a music group
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. snap — to click
  20. staff — a stick
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — finally
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cabinet — ministers

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