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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — a country
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. land — to come down
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — the animal
  18. vault — a safe
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — in an idiom

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