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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: vault · nail · clip · rule · band · lie · fall · court

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — government
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. clip — a video
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lie — to recline
  17. rule — a law
  18. fall — the season
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — of law
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a music group

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