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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rush — hurry
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. vault — a safe
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. drill — army training
  16. net — after costs
  17. present — there
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — the time now
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. net — for catching
  23. present — a gift
  24. fine — all right

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