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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 116 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: vault · wind · fall · present · clip · key

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. vault — a safe
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. present — there
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — a gift
  8. key — for a lock
  9. present — the time now
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. clip — a video
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music

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