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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. club — for golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — a group
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. club — for dancing
  13. game — a match
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — the season
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — a coil
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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