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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. degree — temperature
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — a trail
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. vault — a safe
  13. scale — in music
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. pit — in a race
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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