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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — to cut
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. mark — a grade
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — the time now
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. clip — a video

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