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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — temperature
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. swing — music
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. race — humankind
  12. swing — in golf
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. degree — an amount
  18. vault — a safe

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