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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. face — to confront
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fork — in a road
  8. face — part of the head
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — to point toward
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. prune — to trim
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. snap — to click
  15. prune — to trim
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. vault — a safe
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. deal — to handle

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