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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. tube — a container
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — of law
  13. current — of water
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. clip — for paper
  17. current — happening now
  18. court — of a king
  19. plane — a tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. clip — a video
  23. current — electric
  24. vault — a safe

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