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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. snap — to click
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mine — for digging
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — an amount
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. rash — a series

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