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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a line of people
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bound — certain
  5. file — a tool
  6. cue — for pool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cue — a signal
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bound — tied together
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bound — obliged
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — a video
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a document
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kid — child
  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