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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: clip · shower · bank · wave · face · race · fan · vault

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. face — to confront
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bank — for money
  10. clip — a video
  11. face — part of the head
  12. race — humankind
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. race — the arms race
  15. vault — a safe
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bank — of a river
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bank — for money
  23. shower — rain
  24. fan — a supporter

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