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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — final
  3. degree — temperature
  4. track — a path
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. track — a song
  9. fork — in a road
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mine — for digging
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. track — to keep track
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fork — a garden 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