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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — the underground
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — a container
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — for paper
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — a video
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fall — the season
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. staff — a stick
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. season — of the year
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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