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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. vault — a safe
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. branch — a division
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wave — of the sea

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