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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — a video
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bark — to shout
  20. net — for catching
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spell — letters
  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