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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. staff — employees
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rest — a break
  9. deal — to handle
  10. drill — the tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bat — the animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. staff — a stick
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. drill — army training
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — a video
  24. pound — to hit hard

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