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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — hasty
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. clip — a video
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rush — hurry
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. staff — employees
  18. mug — to rob
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rash — a series
  21. staff — a stick
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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