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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rest — a break
  3. pound — a weight
  4. track — to keep track
  5. staff — employees
  6. court — of a king
  7. clip — a video
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — for sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. track — a path
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — of law
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — the season
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rest — what's left
  22. track — a song
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — to cut

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