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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — army training
  5. present — a gift
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. squash — to crush
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. present — there
  10. degree — an amount
  11. craft — boats
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — a safe
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — the time now
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. craft — a skill
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. racket — for tennis

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