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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 116 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: vault · dip · hand · cell · stick · bass · key · row

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. hand — help
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bass — low music
  14. vault — a safe
  15. key — in music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. dip — to sink
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. dip — to dunk

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