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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bound — obliged
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. row — to paddle
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a ring
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bound — tied together
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. row — a line
  21. bound — certain
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pound — a weight
  24. row — a quarrel

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