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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — a video
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. rash — a series
  8. vault — a safe
  9. ball — a great time
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — final
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — a gift
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. present — the time now
  23. fall — to drop
  24. present — there

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