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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — in a road
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to click
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wax — to grow
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. clip — to cut

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