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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. club — for golf
  3. chest — a box
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. club — for dancing
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. degree — from a university
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — temperature
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. club — a group
  24. kick — in football

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