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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: ball · club · clip · saw · bay · wound · straw · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. saw — the tool
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. clip — a video
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — for dancing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. club — a group
  23. ball — a great time
  24. clip — to cut

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