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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — from a university
  8. face — to point toward
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fine — all right
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — a position
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fine — high quality
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. face — to confront
  21. ground — the earth
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hand — in cards

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