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

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. staff — a stick
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. race — humankind
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. foot — a measure
  14. ball — a dance
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. race — a contest
  24. ball — a great time

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