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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. race — a contest
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kick — in football
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chair — a leader
  18. vault — a safe
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. net — after costs
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — in sport

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