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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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. game — a kind of play
  4. rule — a law
  5. drill — army training
  6. vault — a safe
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rule — government
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bank — for money
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. game — a match
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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