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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: lash · stand · vault · clip · pound · wind · drill · prune

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. drill — army training
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. clip — to cut
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stand — to bear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — a video

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