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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. shower — rain
  3. band — a music group
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. vault — a safe
  8. hand — in cards
  9. shower — to wash
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. board — to get on
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — help
  19. club — a group
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. band — a ring
  24. board — a committee

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