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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rest — a break
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. clip — to cut
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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