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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. clip — a video
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. root — the cause
  6. last — final
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — finally
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — size or range
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. club — for golf
  15. root — of a plant
  16. scale — in music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — of a word
  21. wind — moving air
  22. vault — a safe
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. last — to go on

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