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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. vault — a safe
  5. degree — from a university
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — a trail
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. stock — goods
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — shares
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — clever

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