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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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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 · stick · mine · clip · net · cold · pit · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. net — for catching
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. clip — for paper
  5. net — after costs
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pit — a hole
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. vault — a safe
  21. clip — a video
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — in sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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