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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: season · clip · row · cell · club · vault

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — a line
  7. season — in sport
  8. club — for golf
  9. season — of the year
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. vault — a safe
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. club — for dancing

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