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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — to cut
  12. staff — employees
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — of the year
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — in sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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