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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: vault · wave · game · snap · content · race · clip · leaves

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — happy
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. snap — to click
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. game — a match
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — a contest
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — humankind
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. content — the amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. clip — to cut

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