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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: coach · hand · clip · racket · bark · spring · firm · vault

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. hand — in cards
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. vault — a safe
  13. firm — a company
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — the season
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. firm — decided
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — a loud noise

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