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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — rain
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — a leader
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. degree — from a university
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. vault — a safe
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wound — an injury

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