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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pass · scale · staff · court · hand · clip · cold · lash

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — of law
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — help
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pass — a permit
  11. court — for sport
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — in music
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. staff — a stick
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. court — of a king
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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