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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pit — in a race
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. vault — a safe
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. root — of a plant
  11. fine — all right
  12. pit — a hole
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. root — the cause
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. root — of a word
  23. last — to go on
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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