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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pop — music
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — happening now
  5. net — after costs
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — a video
  8. chest — of your body
  9. net — in sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. current — of water
  15. pop — soda
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. current — electric
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pop — to visit

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