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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 · wave · cold · board · racket · content · fan · clip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — a video
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. clip — to cut
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — happy
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. vault — a safe
  20. board — a committee
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. board — to get on
  24. content — the amount

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