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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. key — for a lock
  3. prune — to trim
  4. key — in music
  5. court — of law
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. file — a tool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a document
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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