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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. last — finally
  8. vault — a safe
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bark — to shout
  19. last — to go on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bulb — for light
  23. last — final
  24. racket — for tennis

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