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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. vault — a safe
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cell — a phone
  17. clip — a video
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wax — to grow
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in biology
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fan — a supporter

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