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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. clip — to cut
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — a video
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mine — for digging
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. degree — an amount
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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