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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: chest · racket · nail · clip · stick · bear · fork · vault

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chest — a box
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fork — in a road
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. clip — for paper
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bear — the animal
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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