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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: wind · bear · vault · chest · fork · clip · board · bulb

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — to cut
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — a video
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. vault — a safe
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chest — a box

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