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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 · firm · spell · wake · can · mine · patient · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — to be able to
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. can — a tin
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wake — a trail
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. clip — a video
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. spell — letters
  16. firm — decided
  17. spell — magic
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mine — for digging
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. vault — a safe
  22. can — a tin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — a short time

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