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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 116 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — a video
  7. charge — electricity
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — a song
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spell — letters
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — the earth
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. spell — a short time
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — a path
  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