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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tube — a container
  3. bass — low music
  4. tube — the underground
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. kid — child
  13. fine — all right
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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