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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. degree — from a university
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — a city
  5. club — a group
  6. shower — rain
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. vault — a safe
  14. capital — money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. club — for golf
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. season — in sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. straw — a straw man

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