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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. mug — a cup
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — for paper
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. lean — thin
  14. land — a country
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mug — a face
  22. clip — a video
  23. staff — employees
  24. stand — on your feet

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