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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rest — a break
  6. staff — employees
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — in music
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. sharp — clever
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in biology
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — to cut
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rest — what's left
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — for paper

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