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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — a safe
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chest — a box
  24. clip — to cut

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