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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wound — an injury
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wake — a trail
  8. clip — a video
  9. mug — to rob
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — to play on
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a cup
  16. season — in sport
  17. mug — a face
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. season — of the year
  21. swing — music
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — for paper

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