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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hand — in cards
  5. season — in sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. season — of the year
  12. kick — in football
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mug — to rob
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pass — a permit
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bass — low music
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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