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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. clip — a video
  15. last — finally
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. vault — a safe
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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