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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 124 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. staff — a stick
  4. key — in music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. date — the fruit
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. kid — child
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. key — for a lock
  16. staff — employees
  17. bear — the animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — to tease
  20. key — the most important part
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. branch — a division
  24. date — on the calendar

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