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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spell — magic
  24. bound — certain

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