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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. last — finally
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — temperature
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stock — goods
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — shares
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. band — a music group
  22. vault — a safe
  23. last — to go on
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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