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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: clip · pit · club · scale · fork · vault · date · root

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pit — in a race
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. club — a group
  7. date — the fruit
  8. club — for golf
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. scale — in music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — to cut
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fork — in a road
  20. club — for dancing
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. pit — a hole
  24. fork — to eat with

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