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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — to cut
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — to go on
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — a video
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wake — a trail
  24. racket — for tennis

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