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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rush — hurry
  19. club — for dancing
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. club — for golf
  22. degree — temperature
  23. vault — a safe
  24. club — a group

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