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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. file — a document
  5. pass — a permit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cell — in biology
  11. file — a tool
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. file — a line of people
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cell — a phone
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. jam — in traffic
  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