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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. net — after costs
  6. bore — to drill
  7. last — finally
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — in sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. vault — a safe
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bore — to tire
  17. net — for catching
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. perch — the fish
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bore — gave birth

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