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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — hurry
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. charge — electricity
  13. lean — thin
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — a video
  16. charge — a price
  17. roll — a list
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. charge — in control
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — clever

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