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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 116 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: kick · band · stand · clip · field · branch · vault · firm

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — for sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stand — to bear
  5. vault — a safe
  6. firm — a company
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. field — farmland
  18. branch — a division
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. firm — decided
  22. kick — in football
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. firm — steady

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