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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — a video
  5. board — a committee
  6. current — electric
  7. last — finally
  8. chest — a box
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — final
  11. clip — for paper
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. spell — a short time
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. current — happening now
  16. board — to get on
  17. current — of water
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. spell — letters
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. spell — magic
  22. vault — a safe
  23. last — to go on
  24. jam — in traffic

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