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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: staff · wind · lie · rock · clip · last · land · cabinet

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. clip — a video
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — to go on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — final
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. last — finally
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rock — music
  20. lie — to recline
  21. land — ground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rock — a stone
  24. land — to come down

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