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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 116 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: last · spring · clip · dip · vault · hand · nail · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — in cards
  6. last — final
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — to go on
  11. hand — help
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — to cut
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. dip — to sink
  24. nail — on a finger

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