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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pop — soda
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — to visit
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — from a university
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. dip — to dunk

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