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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 116 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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. saw — the tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. degree — temperature
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stand — to bear
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. vault — a safe
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a skill
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — child
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bat — in an idiom

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