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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — help
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spring — the season
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — of water
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rush — hurry
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — a coil
  23. vault — a safe
  24. hand — part of the body

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