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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. march — music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. march — the month
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. kick — in football
  23. staff — employees
  24. bass — low music

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