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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. suit — to fit
  3. spring — a coil
  4. vault — a safe
  5. spring — of water
  6. suit — in cards
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — the season
  10. suit — clothes
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in biology
  15. object — a thing
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — shares
  18. degree — an amount
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — temperature
  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