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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: rock · lie · vault · snap · track · cap · bass · clip

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — a path
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cap — a hat
  8. lie — to recline
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rock — music
  12. bass — low music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. snap — to click
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — to cut
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — the fish
  23. track — to keep track
  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