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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: scale · vault · dip · clip · content · cold · rock · present

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. present — there
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. cold — an illness
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cold — not warm
  10. present — the time now
  11. rock — a stone
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. present — a gift
  14. content — happy
  15. scale — size or range
  16. vault — a safe
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. dip — to sink
  19. scale — in music
  20. content — the amount
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. rock — music

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