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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 116 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bass — low music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ball — a dance
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — to cut
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bass — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — a video
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. degree — temperature
  22. plane — a tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ball — a round shape

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