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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — a safe
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — the season
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. clip — a video
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bound — tied together
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. clip — to cut

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