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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: present · degree · track · vault · scale · clip · date · mate

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — there
  3. date — the fruit
  4. scale — size or range
  5. vault — a safe
  6. track — to keep track
  7. scale — in music
  8. present — a gift
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — a path
  11. present — the time now
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mate — a partner
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. track — a song
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mate — to breed
  23. clip — to cut
  24. scale — for weighing

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