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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: fan · row · pound · pit · vault · clip · ball · fall

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — in a race
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pit — a hole
  10. ball — a great time
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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