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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. staff — employees
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. root — of a word
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — magic
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — a video

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