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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. suit — to fit
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. suit — clothes
  5. spell — letters
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — a subject
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. suit — in cards
  11. clip — a video
  12. rest — a break
  13. staff — a stick
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — magic
  18. squash — the sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — a short time
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. staff — employees

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