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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. degree — from a university
  3. track — a path
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — after costs
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. track — to keep track
  15. net — in sport
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. sharp — clever
  18. present — the time now
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — for golf
  21. degree — temperature
  22. vault — a safe
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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