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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. sharp — clever
  4. track — a path
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. clip — a video
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a song
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — a stick
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pound — a weight
  19. track — to keep track
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — employees
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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