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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. current — electric
  5. rest — what's left
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — of water
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. rest — a break
  19. shower — rain
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — a safe
  22. rest — what's left
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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