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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: land · vault · stick · tube · prune · bulb · clip · kick

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. land — a country
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — a container
  14. bulb — for light
  15. prune — to trim
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kick — in football
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — to come down
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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