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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ball — a great time
  4. vault — a safe
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. file — a tool
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. squash — to crush
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a document
  20. court — of a king
  21. ball — a dance
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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