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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stock — shares
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — goods
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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