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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: degree · root · clip · saw · last · vault · current · prune

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. vault — a safe
  5. prune — to trim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. current — happening now
  12. degree — temperature
  13. current — electric
  14. root — the cause
  15. current — of water
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. root — of a plant
  24. last — finally

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