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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: arm · club · game · vault · lean · chest · clip · hand

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — for dancing
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. club — a group
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — a match
  18. lean — thin
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — help
  21. club — for golf
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — a safe

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