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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 116 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: cell · clip · land · vault · spell · branch · net · pitcher

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. branch — a division
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. net — in sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spell — magic
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spell — letters

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