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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rash — a series
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wake — a trail
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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