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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. clip — a video
  9. staff — employees
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. staff — employees
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stock — goods
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — 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