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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. clip — a video
  3. object — an aim
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. object — a thing
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — for paper
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. prune — to trim
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. prune — to trim
  20. race — the arms race
  21. season — in sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — to cut
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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