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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. court — for sport
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lean — thin
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. face — part of the head
  10. vault — a safe
  11. court — of law
  12. chest — a box
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — to confront
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — hasty
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. face — to point toward

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