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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. clip — to cut
  3. vault — a safe
  4. firm — steady
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. game — a match
  10. firm — a company
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. firm — decided
  23. bat — the animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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