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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 116 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: ground · clip · deal · vault · tube · degree · fork · rock

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. degree — from a university
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. clip — a video
  9. fork — in a road
  10. deal — to handle
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. vault — a safe
  18. ground — a position
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. rock — a stone
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ground — the earth
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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