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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — help
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. scale — size or range
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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