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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fine — all right
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cold — an illness
  5. present — there
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. present — a gift
  10. vault — a safe
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fine — high quality
  16. saw — the tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — a video
  24. mouse — the animal

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