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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lean — to bend
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. shower — rain
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. track — a song
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — from a university
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. track — a path
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. lean — thin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to click

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