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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. saw — the tool
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. field — for sport
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — of water
  16. firm — a company
  17. vault — a safe
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — for paper
  23. saw — the tool
  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