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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chest — of your body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. squash — to crush
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chest — of your body
  10. current — of water
  11. spring — of water
  12. saw — the tool
  13. current — happening now
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. current — electric
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spring — the season
  20. chest — a box
  21. squash — the sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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