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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — a trail
  5. shower — rain
  6. vault — a safe
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — completely
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pit — in a race
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a kind of play

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