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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: swing · degree · cap · stand · pound · clip · mouse · vault

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — a weight
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stand — to bear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. clip — a video
  17. swing — music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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