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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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. ball — a round shape
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. ball — a dance
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. staff — employees

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