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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: vault · rush · stem · row · cold · hand · object · clip

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hand — help
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — a safe
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — a thing
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. row — a line
  20. hand — in cards
  21. object — to protest
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — an illness

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