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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · drill · vault · dip · wave · tear

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. vault — a safe
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. drill — the tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. drill — army training

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