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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitch — completely
  3. firm — a company
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. degree — temperature
  13. scale — in music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. vault — a safe
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. firm — steady
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. scale — size or range

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