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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — a video
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cell — a phone
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cell — in a prison

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