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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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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: pitcher · clip · wind · vault · ground · present · bay · cabinet

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — a gift
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — to cut
  14. present — the time now
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — a position
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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