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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pop — music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pop — soda
  12. content — happy
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — to visit
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. last — final
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — to go on
  19. kick — in football
  20. vault — a safe
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. staff — employees
  23. content — the amount
  24. staff — employees

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