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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cue — for pool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — a hint
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. race — a contest
  11. hand — help
  12. bound — tied together
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — happy
  16. bound — certain
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cue — a signal
  21. race — humankind
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hand — in cards

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