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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — to go on
  3. pop — music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. file — a document
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. last — final
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. file — a line of people
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — finally
  13. pop — soda
  14. degree — from a university
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. degree — temperature

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