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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. court — of a king
  5. scale — size or range
  6. court — of law
  7. capital — a city
  8. pop — music
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. court — for sport
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pop — soda
  15. scale — in music
  16. vault — a safe
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pop — to visit
  24. deal — an agreement

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