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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bass — the fish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bass — low music
  5. club — a group
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — a box
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — an amount
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — from a university
  22. drill — army training
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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