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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. object — an aim
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — humankind
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. race — a contest
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wound — an injury
  24. race — the arms race

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