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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 112 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: band · vault · fork · rule · coach · snap · clip · cabinet

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a music group
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fork — in a road
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. band — a ring

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