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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 124 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — finally
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. degree — temperature
  16. vault — a safe
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. last — to go on
  21. degree — an amount
  22. can — to be able to
  23. last — final
  24. fan — a supporter

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