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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — a group
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — for paper
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. staff — employees
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bat — the animal
  17. vault — a safe
  18. club — for golf
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. clip — to cut

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