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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — a grade
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. degree — from a university
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. mark — a trace
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. present — the time now
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body

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