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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. vault — a safe
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lean — to bend
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. perch — the fish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — a break
  22. lean — thin
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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