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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. degree — an amount
  5. game — wild animals
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — a match
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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