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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. mark — a trace
  5. charge — in control
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mark — a grade
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spring — of water
  16. charge — a price
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — a line
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rule — government
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a tool
  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