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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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Word bank
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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: leaves · bay · mark · last · wound · clip · vault · staff

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — finally
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mark — a grade
  11. staff — employees
  12. mark — a trace
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. clip — to cut
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. staff — employees

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