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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: vault · chair · nail · clip · rock · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rock — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — the arms race
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — for paper
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. race — a contest
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chair — a leader

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