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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mine — for digging
  3. vault — a safe
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — humankind
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — for light
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — of a plant

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