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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. last — to go on
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. vault — a safe
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — finally
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. degree — an amount
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. last — final
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bowl — a dish

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