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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. mark — a trace
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — an amount
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. staff — a stick
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a ring
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mark — a grade
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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