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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mug — a face
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mug — a cup
  9. last — to go on
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — size or range
  16. staff — employees
  17. last — final
  18. scale — in music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. clip — a video
  24. mug — to rob

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