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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. vault — a safe
  4. object — an aim
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. last — to go on
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. clip — to cut
  9. object — to protest
  10. branch — a division
  11. hand — help
  12. object — a thing
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bulb — for light

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