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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. shower — rain
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mark — a trace
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. mark — a grade
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wake — a trail

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