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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 · snap · clip · bowl · kick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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. vault — in gymnastics
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. snap — to click
  15. kick — in football
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. vault — a safe

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