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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rush — hurry
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — a signal

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