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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. squash — the sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. track — a song
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — from a university
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — an amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. game — a match
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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