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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. degree — from a university
  3. press — newspapers
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. press — to push
  6. wound — an injury
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. press — a publisher
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — a line
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. vault — a safe
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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