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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: clip · ruler · wind · vault · chest · bark

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. clip — a video

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