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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — a coil
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rule — a law
  7. shower — to wash
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rule — government
  12. vault — a safe
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. degree — an amount
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — the season
  18. rock — a stone
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — rain
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rock — music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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