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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bulb — for light
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. present — the time now
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. last — finally
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — final
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. shower — rain
  18. squash — the sport
  19. present — there
  20. bulb — for light
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitch — completely
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — to wash

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