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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pop — soda
  3. file — a tool
  4. pop — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — employees
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. file — a document
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. staff — a stick
  22. plane — a tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — 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