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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 116 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bass — low music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rest — what's left
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rest — a break
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — rain
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mark — a trace
  23. degree — an amount
  24. vault — a safe

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