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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: hand · date · bay · fall · staff · present · race · squash

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. date — the fruit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. present — the time now
  9. race — a contest
  10. present — a gift
  11. race — humankind
  12. squash — to crush
  13. present — there
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. race — the arms race
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bay — a horse colour

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