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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: stand · clip · cap · row · vault · wake · kick · chest

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stand — to bear
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wake — a trail
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — in football
  16. row — a line
  17. vault — a safe
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cap — of ice
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stand — on your feet

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