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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — size or range
  6. last — finally
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. mate — a partner
  9. net — after costs
  10. mate — to breed
  11. staff — employees
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. scale — in music
  14. last — to go on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. staff — employees
  19. mate — a friend
  20. degree — an amount
  21. last — final
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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