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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 120 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ball — a dance
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mug — a cup
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. mug — a face
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mug — to rob
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. lash — an eyelash

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