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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. track — a song
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. track — a path
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — hasty
  11. staff — employees
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — an amount
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wound — an injury
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. track — to keep track

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