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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — a safe
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hand — help
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. arm — a part of something

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