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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — an injury
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cap — a lid
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tube — a container
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — a video
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. prune — the fruit

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