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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: clip · bulb · degree · band · trunk · face · vault · last

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. degree — from a university
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — for paper
  6. band — a ring
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. last — to go on
  13. vault — a safe
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. face — to confront
  16. clip — to cut
  17. last — final
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bulb — for light
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — a video
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bulb — for light

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