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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bear — the animal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. staff — employees
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fall — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. charge — in control
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. staff — employees
  24. fall — to drop

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