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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — the tool
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chest — a box
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. roll — a list
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — happening now
  12. chest — of your body
  13. current — electric
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. vault — a safe
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — for light
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. current — of water

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