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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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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. track — to keep track
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — to play on
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. swing — in golf
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. track — a path
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. track — a song
  21. degree — an amount
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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