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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. degree — an amount
  3. branch — a division
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. season — in sport
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. season — of the year
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — temperature

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