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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. vault — a safe
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mate — to breed
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chair — a leader

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