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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — a stick
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. chest — of your body
  13. content — happy
  14. chest — a box
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. staff — employees
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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