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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. date — the fruit
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. degree — an amount
  17. land — a country
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pitch — completely
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rush — to hurry

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