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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mine — for digging
  4. staff — a stick
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tube — the underground
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a great time
  12. drill — army training
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tube — a container
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mine — an explosive
  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