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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 116 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bound — tied together
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bound — certain
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. land — to come down
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. track — to keep track
  12. vault — a safe
  13. track — a path
  14. bound — obliged
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — a country
  17. track — a song
  18. march — music
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — a video
  24. land — ground

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