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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: degree · wind · vault · file · squash · cell · can · clip

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. can — to be able to
  14. file — a document
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cell — in biology
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — a video

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