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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bass — low music
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. saw — the tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — a subject
  10. last — finally
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rock — music
  16. spell — magic
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bass — the fish
  23. vault — a safe
  24. field — farmland

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