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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · present · staff · club · rest · deal

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — a group
  4. deal — to handle
  5. staff — a stick
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — what's left
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — a break
  12. club — for dancing
  13. present — there
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. staff — employees
  16. club — for golf
  17. present — the time now
  18. rest — what's left

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