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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. vault — a safe
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — newspapers
  6. degree — temperature
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. capital — money
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — a publisher
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cold — an illness
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. press — to push
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cold — not warm
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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