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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rush — hurry
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. clip — a video

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