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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: land · trunk · board · wound · vault · net · cell · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — a country
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — to come down
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. board — a committee
  12. net — in sport
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — an injury
  21. board — to get on
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. net — after costs

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