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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. clip — a video
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mug — a face
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. rest — what's left
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — to rob
  21. clip — to cut
  22. last — to go on
  23. rest — a break
  24. lean — to bend

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