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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. staff — employees
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. can — to be able to
  5. present — a gift
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — of water
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. present — there
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — the time now
  18. spring — a coil
  19. can — a tin
  20. season — of the year
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spring — the season
  23. dip — to sink
  24. can — a tin

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