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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. charge — in control
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. row — a line
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. branch — a division
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. toast — bread
  15. chip — for betting
  16. clip — for paper
  17. row — to paddle
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. charge — a price
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chip — to eat
  24. charge — electricity

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