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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. degree — from a university
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. branch — a division
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — an amount
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. board — to get on
  20. chip — for betting
  21. board — a committee
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. branch — of a bank

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