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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. charge — in control
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — a grade
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — a box
  11. charge — a price
  12. face — to confront
  13. staff — employees
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — help
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — part of the head
  24. hand — in cards

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