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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. bear — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — a video
  15. capital — money
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — a stick
  24. plane — in geometry

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