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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pop — to visit
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pop — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — a contest
  12. pop — soda
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — in golf
  20. degree — from a university
  21. race — humankind
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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