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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 · band · stock · cell · can · kid · clip · sharp

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a ring
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. vault — a safe
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. can — a tin
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. kid — child
  21. band — a music group
  22. stock — shares
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stock — goods

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