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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: trunk · rest · suit · clip · race · cue · vault · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cue — a hint
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. suit — in cards
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. race — a contest
  11. cue — for pool
  12. rest — a break
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — a safe
  19. suit — clothes
  20. race — the arms race
  21. clip — a video
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. race — humankind
  24. rest — what's left

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