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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. 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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. swing — music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. snap — to click
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stem — to come from
  11. swing — to play on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — hurry
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. degree — an amount
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — to sink
  24. 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