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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · clip · key · fan · fall · field · drill · vault

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — army training
  5. fall — to drop
  6. vault — a safe
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — for sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. drill — a practice
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. key — the most important part
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. key — in music
  21. drill — the tool
  22. can — a tin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. clip — a video

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