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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — a lid
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. clip — a video
  8. season — in sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. vault — a safe
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — for paper
  13. race — a contest
  14. content — the amount
  15. root — of a word
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. season — of the year
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cap — a hat
  20. root — the cause
  21. content — happy
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — of ice
  24. season — to add flavour

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