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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. net — for catching
  3. mate — a friend
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pound — a weight
  11. land — to come down
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — a country
  15. drill — the tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mate — to breed
  20. net — after costs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. drill — a practice

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