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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 116 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. bore — to drill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. vault — a safe
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. last — finally
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bore — to tire
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bat — the animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bat — for baseball
  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