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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. vault — a safe
  13. tube — a container
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — temperature
  24. coach — a trainer

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