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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — of the year
  5. track — a song
  6. mate — a partner
  7. vault — a safe
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fine — all right
  12. present — the time now
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. season — in sport

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