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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. craft — boats
  3. vault — a safe
  4. craft — a skill
  5. clip — a video
  6. charge — a price
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pop — to visit
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. clip — to cut
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pop — soda
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pop — music
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. charge — in control
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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