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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pop — music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rest — a break
  10. firm — steady
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pop — soda
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — to cut
  16. firm — a company
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. firm — decided
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — a video
  22. dip — to sink
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. staff — employees

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