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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hand — in cards
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. key — the most important part
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hand — help
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. sharp — clever
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — an illness
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. key — in music

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