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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: staff · clip · craft · pit · scale · kid · vault · degree

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. staff — a stick
  9. kid — child
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pit — in a race
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pit — a hole
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — a safe
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — in music
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — temperature
  24. clip — a video

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