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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — a video
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. press — a publisher
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — a phone
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. degree — an amount
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. vault — a safe
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. press — to push
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — newspapers
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — to cut

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