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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. staff — employees
  3. track — a song
  4. staff — a stick
  5. season — in sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rest — a break
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rest — what's left
  14. track — a path
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. shower — rain
  19. rest — what's left
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — to cut
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. track — to keep track

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