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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. track — to keep track
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mate — a partner
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — a video
  12. track — a song
  13. swing — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — a friend
  16. fork — in a road
  17. track — a path
  18. swing — in golf

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