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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: bat · bear · bowl · tear · clip · vault

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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 — to cut
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. vault — a safe
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a football final
  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