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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — tied together
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fall — to drop
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bound — obliged
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bound — certain
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spring — of water
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. clip — for paper
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. vault — a safe

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