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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. staff — a stick
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. row — to paddle
  12. staff — employees
  13. row — a line
  14. band — a ring
  15. staff — employees
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. clip — for paper
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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