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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fine — all right
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. staff — employees
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rest — what's left
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — army training
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. court — of law
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — for paper
  19. court — of a king
  20. staff — employees
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. clip — to cut
  23. staff — a stick
  24. court — for sport

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