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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — a video
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. march — music
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cold — not warm
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bulb — for light
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chip — to eat
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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