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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. drill — army training
  5. swing — to play on
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — a practice
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. stock — goods
  16. drill — the tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — help
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. clip — for paper

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