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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: board · suit · arm · jam · clip · tear · cold · vault

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — a video
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. tear — to rip
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. suit — in cards
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. suit — to fit
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. suit — clothes
  23. board — a committee
  24. arm — part of the body

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