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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — hurry
  7. staff — a stick
  8. key — in music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. last — finally
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. key — the most important part
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. staff — employees
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rest — what's left
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — to go on
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rest — a break

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