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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — a list
  6. degree — from a university
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. file — a document
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. vault — a safe
  16. file — a line of people
  17. drill — a practice
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. press — to push
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — a leader
  22. drill — army training
  23. press — a publisher
  24. wind — moving air

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