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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 124 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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. lean — thin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bound — certain
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lean — to bend
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — to cut
  11. land — a country
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — ground
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. wind — moving air
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. land — to come down
  24. spell — magic

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