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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rest — what's left
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. root — of a word
  5. race — a contest
  6. root — of a plant
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. staff — employees
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a music group
  12. race — the arms race
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. rest — a break
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. race — humankind
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. clip — for paper

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