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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · vault · bear · degree · content · fork

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. degree — temperature
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — a safe
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. content — the amount
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bear — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — the animal
  18. content — happy

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