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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. face — to point toward
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. vault — a safe
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — to handle
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stem — to come from
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — hasty
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. file — a document
  24. clip — to cut

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