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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. staff — employees
  3. charge — in control
  4. staff — employees
  5. charge — electricity
  6. ball — a dance
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — in sport
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. charge — a price
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a great time
  17. staff — a stick
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. vault — a safe
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — for catching
  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