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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. race — the arms race
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pit — in a race
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — humankind
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. dip — to sink
  21. sharp — clever
  22. scale — in music
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. racket — a loud noise

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