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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · tube · clip · drill · court · degree · vault · staff

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — a practice
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — a stick
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — from a university
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. staff — employees

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