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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. vault — a safe
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. band — a ring
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a music group
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pound — a weight

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