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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 · vault · press · wind · wound · fork

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fork — in a road
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — a publisher
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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