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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fork — in a road
  6. degree — temperature
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to click
  10. chip — to eat
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chip — for betting

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