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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. lie — to recline
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — crushed
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. vault — a safe
  13. ground — a position
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. snap — to click
  18. ground — the earth
  19. race — a contest
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. plane — a tool
  22. sharp — clever
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lie — an untruth

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