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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a ring
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — child
  9. vault — a safe
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. fall — the season

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