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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: cell · wake · vault · game · key · clip · perch · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. game — a match
  6. wake — a trail
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — a phone
  10. key — the most important part
  11. clip — a video
  12. perch — the fish
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. key — for a lock
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cap — a hat
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. key — in music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cell — in biology
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cell — in a prison

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