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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. game — a match
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — an illness
  6. firm — a company
  7. board — to get on
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. vault — a safe
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — to cut
  16. board — a committee
  17. firm — steady
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — not warm
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  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