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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: clip · key · vault · mate · row · race

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. race — humankind
  4. key — for a lock
  5. clip — to cut
  6. key — the most important part
  7. race — a contest
  8. key — in music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. race — the arms race
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — for paper
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. row — a line

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