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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. last — to go on
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to click
  6. ground — a position
  7. season — of the year
  8. ground — the earth
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — final
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. degree — temperature
  16. present — a gift
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. vault — a safe
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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