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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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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 · bore · kid · clip · spell · vault · roll · pound

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. spell — letters
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — from a university
  10. roll — a cake
  11. clip — to cut
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bore — to drill
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — to tire
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — magic

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