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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. degree — from a university
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mouse — the animal

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