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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: vault · chest · craft · wave · march · patient · kid · clip

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. vault — a safe
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a skill
  12. kid — child
  13. craft — boats
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chest — a box
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. kid — to tease
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  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