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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. drill — army training
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — temperature
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — the tool
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. vault — a safe
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — a practice
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pop — soda
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — to visit

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