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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: rock · dip · clip · lie · fork · wound · cold · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. lie — to recline
  3. vault — a safe
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fork — in a road
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rock — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rock — a stone

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