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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — boats
  10. vault — a safe
  11. sharp — clever
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. clip — for paper
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — a position

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