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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pit — in a race
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wake — a trail
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. vault — a safe
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — to cut
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chip — for betting
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — not warm
  24. safe — out of danger

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