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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hand — in cards
  4. vault — a safe
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. present — a gift
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hand — help
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. present — the time now
  14. staff — employees
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. present — there
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — child
  24. hand — part of the body

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