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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rest — a break
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — a position
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — to breed
  17. staff — a stick
  18. clip — a video
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wind — moving air

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