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

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — a video
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — a break
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — the earth
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. degree — temperature
  14. file — a document
  15. vault — a safe
  16. ground — crushed
  17. season — in sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bound — certain
  20. ground — a position
  21. bound — obliged
  22. file — a tool
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rest — what's left

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