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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — there
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rush — hurry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. present — a gift
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rock — a stone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pop — soda
  23. present — the time now
  24. clip — a video

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