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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: clip · snap · wind · lean · tube · vault · pitcher · drill

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — a safe
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lean — thin
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tube — the underground

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