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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. scale — size or range
  3. degree — temperature
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — for catching
  8. vault — a safe
  9. current — electric
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — a video
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. net — in sport
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stand — to bear
  22. scale — in music
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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