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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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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: vault · fine · file · coach · clip · arm · cell · wax

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. clip — a video
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. file — a document
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fine — all right
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fine — high quality
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — to grow
  24. file — a tool

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