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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 124 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. staff — employees
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — a stone
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rock — music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. cap — a hat

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