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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — to wash
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. shower — rain
  15. stem — to come from
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  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