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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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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: key · degree · date · cabinet · file · row · clip · vault

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. clip — a video
  3. key — for a lock
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a document
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — to cut
  17. file — a tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. key — in music
  24. degree — from a university

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