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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. firm — decided
  2. degree — an amount
  3. firm — a company
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. firm — steady
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — rain
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. race — the arms race
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. race — a contest
  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