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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cue — a hint
  4. staff — employees
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cue — a signal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. vault — a safe
  12. degree — an amount
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pit — a hole
  17. saw — the tool
  18. staff — employees
  19. degree — from a university
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cue — for pool
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pit — in a race

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