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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. roll — a list
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — from a university
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. prune — to trim

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