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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wind — moving air
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — temperature
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. present — a gift
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. clip — a video
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wind — moving air
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. stock — shares

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