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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. degree — temperature
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — humankind
  24. lie — an untruth

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