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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: clip · club · drill · roll · perch · spring · vault · wound

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. club — for dancing
  3. clip — for paper
  4. vault — a safe
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. perch — the fish
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spring — of water
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — a cake
  16. drill — army training
  17. spring — the season
  18. roll — a list
  19. club — for golf
  20. drill — a practice
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — the tool

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