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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. firm — steady
  9. march — the month
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. firm — a company
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. firm — decided
  21. clip — a video
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. march — music
  24. clip — for paper

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