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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — in golf
  5. charge — electricity
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. swing — to play on
  9. charge — a price
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. mark — a grade
  13. degree — temperature
  14. capital — money
  15. charge — in control
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. swing — music
  22. mark — a trace
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — to turn a key

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