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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitch — completely
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — a group
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. face — to point toward
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — to confront
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — a subject
  18. clip — for paper
  19. face — part of the head
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. field — for sport

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