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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bark — to shout
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. clip — a video
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wound — an injury
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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