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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a lid
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rest — what's left
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cap — of ice
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. game — wild animals
  13. craft — boats
  14. degree — temperature
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rest — a break
  20. game — a match
  21. stem — to come from
  22. vault — a safe
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. row — a quarrel

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