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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 120 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: craft · bowl · vault · degree · race · clip · cue · current

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cue — for pool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. current — electric
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. race — the arms race
  8. clip — a video
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — a contest
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — happening now
  15. degree — temperature
  16. current — of water
  17. vault — a safe
  18. craft — boats
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. race — humankind
  24. cue — a hint

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