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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. scale — in music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. date — the fruit
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — employees
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. season — to add flavour

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