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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — a short time
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rest — what's left
  5. vault — a safe
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — after costs
  10. chip — for betting
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. net — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chip — to eat
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. chip — in a computer

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