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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: vault · patient · swing · spring · race · cabinet · clip · rush

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rush — hurry
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. race — a contest
  8. spring — of water
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. swing — to play on
  14. clip — to cut
  15. vault — a safe
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spring — the season
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. spring — a coil
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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