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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: straw · arm · chip · bark · wind · clip · court · vault

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. court — of a king
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chip — to eat
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — for sport
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. clip — for paper
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bark — to shout
  24. court — of law

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