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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 · lash · bay · land · mug · staff · pit · race

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mug — a face
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — a contest
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. mug — to rob
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. land — ground
  19. race — humankind
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. staff — a stick

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