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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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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: vault · ruler · cell · chip · fork · bass · degree · clip

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. degree — an amount
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — in a road
  22. degree — from a university
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — a safe

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