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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. row — to paddle
  8. can — to be able to
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — for paper
  11. can — a tin
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. branch — a division
  18. clip — a video
  19. ball — a great time
  20. vault — a safe
  21. capital — a city
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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