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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — to keep track
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. mug — to rob
  11. vault — a safe
  12. key — the most important part
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — a coil
  15. track — a song
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a path
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — a cup
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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