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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. vault — a safe
  6. race — humankind
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. race — a contest

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