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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: vault · degree · sharp · spell · pitcher · clip · current · race

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — the arms race
  5. vault — a safe
  6. sharp — clever
  7. current — electric
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. degree — temperature
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. race — humankind
  13. spell — magic
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. current — happening now
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spell — letters
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. current — of water

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