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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — to go on
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — clever
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. tube — the underground
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — the amount
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. content — happy
  20. last — final
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — a video
  23. staff — a stick
  24. last — finally

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