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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. degree — an amount
  2. pop — soda
  3. mug — a cup
  4. lie — to recline
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. staff — employees
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mug — to rob
  12. pop — music
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. pop — to visit
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — a video
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. lie — an untruth
  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