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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. degree — from a university
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. swing — music
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. swing — to play on
  10. drill — a practice
  11. shower — rain
  12. vault — a safe
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. swing — in golf
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. drill — army training
  21. degree — an amount
  22. sharp — clever
  23. drill — the tool
  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