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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 120 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: foot · cell · kid · face · cue · rush · vault · clip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. vault — a safe
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kid — child
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cue — a signal
  11. clip — a video
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cue — a hint
  16. face — to confront
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rush — hurry
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cue — for pool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cell — in biology

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