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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — moving air
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — to go on
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — a video
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spring — of water
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. vault — a safe
  16. race — the arms race
  17. last — finally
  18. chip — to eat
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — final
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — to cut

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