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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — of your body
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — wild animals
  9. snap — to click
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — a box
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bank — for money
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. plane — an aircraft

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