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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bear — the animal
  5. staff — employees
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bear — the animal
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. swing — in golf
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. key — in music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rash — hasty
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. clip — a video
  24. staff — a stick

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