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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bound — certain
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. present — the time now
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — a gift
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. present — there
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — tied together
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pass — a permit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. staff — employees
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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