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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chest — a box
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — for sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — to grow
  24. can — a tin

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