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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. club — a group
  6. ball — a dance
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ball — a great time
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. vault — a safe
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bass — low music
  16. snap — to click
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. mate — a friend
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mate — to breed

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