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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.

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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — an amount
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — in music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spring — of water
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — a safe
  22. row — to paddle
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — a country

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