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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — a stick
  8. rock — music
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rule — a law
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rule — government
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. temple — a place of worship

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