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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — a video
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. firm — a company
  15. can — a tin
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cold — an illness
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. firm — decided
  24. bowl — a dish

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