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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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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: clip · court · race · fan · tear · vault · perch · bulb

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. race — humankind
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — a contest
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — for sport
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — the fish
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of a king
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. race — the arms race

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