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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. kid — child
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. present — there
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. key — the most important part
  7. cold — an illness
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. staff — a stick
  13. key — in music
  14. staff — employees
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — for a lock
  18. track — a path
  19. present — the time now
  20. track — a song
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. present — a gift
  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