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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — in golf
  4. vault — a safe
  5. tear — to rip
  6. file — a document
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wake — a trail
  11. craft — a skill
  12. swing — music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. file — a tool
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. swing — to play on

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