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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rule — government
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rule — a law
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. clip — to cut
  14. suit — in cards
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. suit — clothes
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a document
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — a tool

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