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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pop — soda
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fork — in a road
  9. vault — a safe
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rest — what's left
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. craft — boats
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spring — of water
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rest — a break

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