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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. club — for dancing
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rash — a series
  6. club — a group
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. staff — employees
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. clip — a video
  13. mug — to rob
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for golf
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mine — belonging to me

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