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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. can — a tin
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. rest — what's left
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — a video
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — a break
  22. can — a tin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. can — to be able to

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