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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. clip — to cut
  4. roll — a cake
  5. staff — employees
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. swing — music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cap — of ice
  14. swing — to play on
  15. vault — a safe
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — for paper
  20. present — a gift
  21. clip — a video
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. staff — employees
  24. roll — a list

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