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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — final
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bear — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — the animal
  12. current — happening now
  13. net — after costs
  14. clip — a video
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — for paper
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — money
  19. last — finally
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. current — electric
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. current — of water

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