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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. spell — magic
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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