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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: race · coach · vault · clip · spring · cap · straw · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cap — a lid
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — humankind
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. vault — a safe
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — to cut
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. spring — of water
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. race — the arms race
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — a contest

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