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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: pitch · clip · degree · lash · cell · vault · coach · rest

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. vault — a safe
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rest — what's left
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pitch — completely
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rest — what's left
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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