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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. shower — rain
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. roll — a cake
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. roll — a list
  16. degree — from a university
  17. date — the fruit
  18. vault — a safe
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — hasty
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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