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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — of a king
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. vault — a safe
  11. board — to get on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. court — of law
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. court — for sport
  21. snap — to click
  22. band — a music group
  23. board — a committee
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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