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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rash — hasty
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rest — a break
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — a series
  16. race — humankind
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — what's left
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. rest — what's left
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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