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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a ring
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. vault — a safe
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. band — a music group
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. squash — to crush
  24. band — a rubber band

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