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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — from a university
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fall — to drop
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. fall — the season
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. swing — in golf
  12. stem — to come from
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rule — government
  22. pitch — completely
  23. swing — music
  24. degree — an amount

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