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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: band · file · chest · vault · clip · patient · saw · land

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. file — a line of people
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. saw — the tool
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a document
  10. chest — a box
  11. vault — a safe
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a tool
  23. land — a country
  24. clip — to cut

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