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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. staff — employees
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — to come down
  11. chest — of your body
  12. land — ground
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — a box
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pass — a permit
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. land — a country
  23. branch — a division
  24. saw — the tool

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