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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — the earth
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. ground — a position
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. vault — a safe
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. season — in sport

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