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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. staff — a stick
  10. chip — for betting
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rest — a break
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — clever
  20. hand — help
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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