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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 124 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: mine · stand · arm · kid · stick · vault · clip · date

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stand — to bear
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — child
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — to cut
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. date — the fruit
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — for paper
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stand — on your feet

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