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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wake — a trail
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ball — a dance
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. vault — a safe
  24. ball — a great time

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