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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fork — in a road
  5. net — for catching
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — to rip
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. net — after costs
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. mark — a grade
  13. net — in sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — temperature

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