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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: cold · mark · wound · can · clip · row · vault · lash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mark — a trace
  12. row — to paddle
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — a tin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. can — to be able to
  19. vault — a safe
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — a line
  23. mark — a grade
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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