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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 124 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. staff — employees
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. staff — a stick
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bass — low music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. court — for sport
  15. key — in music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. court — of law
  18. bass — the fish
  19. staff — employees
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. clip — to cut
  22. key — the most important part
  23. court — of a king
  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