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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. press — a publisher
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. degree — from a university
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — to push
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. degree — an amount

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