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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cap — a hat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a music group
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a ring
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. vault — a safe
  21. chest — a box
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ball — a great time

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