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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rest — a break
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. key — for a lock
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. staff — employees
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — low music
  11. fall — the season
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. key — in music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fall — to drop

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