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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bass — low music
  3. land — a country
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. clip — a video
  7. pit — in a race
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pit — a hole
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. staff — employees
  13. bass — the fish
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. land — to come down

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