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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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Word bank
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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: stem · clip · hand · dip · face · bat · fan · vault

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. hand — help
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — in cards
  11. face — to confront
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — to cut
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bat — for baseball

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