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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — in biology
  4. current — electric
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — in a race
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — happening now
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — final
  14. current — of water
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pit — a hole
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — a line
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cell — a phone
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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