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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fall — the season
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. degree — an amount
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rest — a break
  12. fine — all right
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — help
  24. vault — a safe

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