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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. degree — temperature
  3. roll — a cake
  4. charge — in control
  5. vault — a safe
  6. charge — a price
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. row — to paddle
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. fork — in a road
  13. degree — an amount
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. charge — electricity
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. roll — a list
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. row — a line
  24. rash — a series

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