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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — in a race
  11. scale — size or range
  12. clip — a video
  13. face — to confront
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fall — the season
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — in 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