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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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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — after costs
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — a safe
  7. staff — employees
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — to roll

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