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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. staff — employees
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. staff — a stick
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. present — there
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. game — wild animals
  15. vault — a safe
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — a gift
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — a match
  23. bass — the fish
  24. game — a kind of play

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