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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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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: shower · dip · vault · cap · saw · present · tube · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. clip — a video
  4. cap — a hat
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — a container
  11. vault — a safe
  12. present — a gift
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — the time now
  16. cap — of ice
  17. dip — to sink
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. present — there
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cap — a lid

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