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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 120 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: wind · straw · pitcher · clip · foot · stand · vault · object

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. object — to protest
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — a video
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. foot — a measure
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stand — to bear
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. object — an aim
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wind — moving air
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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