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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: chest · vault · bowl · straw · racket · clip

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — a box
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — to cut
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — for tennis

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