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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: fall · hide · cold · spring · club · charge · vault · clip

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. club — for dancing
  3. charge — in control
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spring — a coil
  6. charge — electricity
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — for golf
  11. clip — a video
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — the season
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. club — a group
  18. spring — of water
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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