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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. vault — a safe
  3. staff — a stick
  4. charge — a price
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. charge — in control
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. clip — for paper
  14. staff — employees
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. craft — boats
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. craft — a skill
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wax — to grow
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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