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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. last — final
  4. capital — money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — finally
  14. clip — a video
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — a safe
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — a city

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