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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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Word bank
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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: kick · ground · clip · vault · season · tear

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. kick — in football
  10. season — of the year
  11. ground — the earth
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — crushed
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — in sport

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