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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. plane — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. hand — in cards
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. game — a match
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. game — a kind of play

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