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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. staff — employees
  4. scale — in music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. staff — a stick
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rest — a break
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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