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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ball — a great time
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. club — for golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wind — moving air
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. club — for dancing
  21. game — a match
  22. club — a group
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wind — to turn a key

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