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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: bore · band · saw · last · fall · vault · content · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — happy
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. vault — a safe
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — the amount
  12. last — final
  13. clip — to cut
  14. last — to go on
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. band — a music group
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. fall — the season
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — finally

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