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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: net · vault · mate · content · clip · degree · straw · dip

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. vault — a safe
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. net — after costs
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. degree — an amount

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