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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pop — soda
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rule — a law
  5. club — for golf
  6. vault — a safe
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rule — government
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — a box
  15. object — an aim
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — a group
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. clip — to cut
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — a video

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