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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 116 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. clip — to cut
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pound — a weight
  5. clip — for paper
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. net — for catching
  8. clip — a video
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. hand — help
  11. net — after costs
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. net — in sport
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — the tool
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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