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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mate — to breed
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fine — all right
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fine — high quality
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. board — to get on
  15. last — finally
  16. board — a committee
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. vault — a safe

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