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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — from a university
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. shower — rain
  8. rock — a stone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. current — of water
  12. degree — an amount
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. current — happening now
  17. shower — to wash
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — electric
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rock — to move gently

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