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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 · chest · clip · lie · track · tear · pit · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. clip — a video
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. track — a song
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pit — in a race
  10. track — to keep track
  11. chest — a box
  12. pit — a hole
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a path
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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