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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. net — for catching
  3. mate — to breed
  4. row — a line
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. clip — a video
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — to paddle
  11. net — after costs
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. net — in sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mate — a friend

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