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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. clip — to cut
  4. current — electric
  5. track — to keep track
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — a video
  9. tube — the underground
  10. vault — a safe
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — the month
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. current — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. track — a path
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — a container
  20. march — music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. track — a song
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. clip — for paper

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