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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · vault · hide · tear · object · file · ball · march

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a document
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. object — an aim
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — a thing
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — a video
  20. tear — to rip
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. file — a line of people
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. file — a tool

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