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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. lean — thin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cue — a hint
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lean — to bend
  11. key — in music
  12. vault — a safe
  13. snap — to click
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. degree — temperature
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cue — for pool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bat — the animal

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