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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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Word bank
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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: staff · bat · rock · season · rule · roll · jam · hand

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rule — a law
  9. season — of the year
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. roll — a cake
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. hand — in cards
  14. season — in sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. roll — a list
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bat — for baseball

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