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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mate — a friend
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. clip — a video
  16. mine — for digging
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mate — to breed
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — for paper
  23. vault — a safe
  24. mate — a partner

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