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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — money
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. clip — to cut
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. capital — a city

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