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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. 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. saw — the tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. vault — a safe
  13. file — a tool
  14. net — for catching
  15. saw — the tool
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a document
  18. 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