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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. file — a tool
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stand — to bear
  14. degree — an amount
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. march — music

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