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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cap — a lid
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wound — an injury
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitch — completely
  18. vault — a safe
  19. shower — rain
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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