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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for golf
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. degree — temperature
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. degree — an amount
  11. season — in sport
  12. club — a group
  13. saw — the tool
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rule — a law
  18. saw — the tool

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