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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. staff — employees
  4. cell — a phone
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — in biology
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — rain
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rush — hurry
  18. shower — to wash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — a video
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pass — a permit

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