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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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Word bank
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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. degree — an amount
  6. vault — a safe
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bass — low music
  11. race — humankind
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — a contest
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. band — a ring
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — the time now
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rash — a series
  24. band — a music group

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