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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: staff · cell · vault · temple · clip · row

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — a safe
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. clip — to cut
  8. staff — employees
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. staff — employees
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. staff — a stick
  18. clip — a video

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