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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. vault — a safe
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — wild animals
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. degree — temperature
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tear — to rip

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