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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. lie — to recline
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — hurry
  5. drill — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — music
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. club — for golf
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. swing — in golf
  20. clip — to cut
  21. club — for dancing
  22. degree — temperature
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — to play on

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