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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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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: wind · snap · stock · vault · clip · suit · wave · degree

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. suit — to fit
  5. clip — a video
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — shares
  11. snap — to click
  12. degree — temperature
  13. suit — clothes
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stock — goods
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. suit — in cards

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