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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 124 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a document
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. clip — for paper

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