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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 120 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: cell · fall · clip · shower · vault · file

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a document
  3. shower — to wash
  4. vault — a safe
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — to drop
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — a video
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. shower — rain
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fall — to drop
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison

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