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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kid — child
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — final
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. swing — in golf
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — to go on
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wake — a trail
  17. last — finally
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chest — a box
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bound — certain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — a safe
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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