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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: vault · stand · row · wake · clip · trunk · chair · pop

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chair — a leader
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. vault — a safe
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wake — a trail
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. clip — a video
  18. pop — soda
  19. stand — to bear
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — to visit
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pop — music

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