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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. club — for dancing
  5. race — a contest
  6. perch — the fish
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. degree — from a university
  12. drill — a practice
  13. race — humankind
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — army training
  17. race — the arms race
  18. club — a group
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. club — for golf
  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