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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. degree — from a university
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. vault — a safe
  7. present — the time now
  8. drill — a practice
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hand — help
  12. kick — in football
  13. degree — an amount
  14. drill — the tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. scale — in music
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. club — for dancing
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — size or range

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