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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. vault — a safe
  3. press — to push
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. shower — rain
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mine — for digging
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. tube — a container
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — a box
  22. tube — the underground
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — a monarch

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