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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — a video
  6. suit — to fit
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mug — a face
  11. shower — rain
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. suit — clothes
  15. mug — to rob
  16. suit — in cards
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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