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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. swing — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kick — in football
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a document
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. vault — a safe
  22. file — a line of people
  23. swing — to play on
  24. sharp — clever

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