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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: straw · fine · kick · band · clip · vault · row · cap

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. 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. straw — a straw man
  2. cap — of ice
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fine — high quality
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kick — in football
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — all right
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. 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