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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. clip — for paper
  5. board — a committee
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cell — a phone
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. toast — bread
  22. board — to get on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pound — to hit hard

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