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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — the tool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. clip — for paper
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — army training
  20. vault — a safe
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — in football

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