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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: spell · vault · chest · date · board · clip · land · bear

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — a short time
  4. date — the fruit
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — a video
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. board — a committee
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. land — a country
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. land — ground
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — to cut
  18. land — to come down
  19. board — to get on
  20. chest — a box
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bear — the animal

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