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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. scale — size or range
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. pass — a permit
  17. staff — a stick
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. file — a document

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