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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. race — the arms race
  10. snap — to click
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — a coil
  15. race — humankind
  16. vault — a safe
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — help
  20. spring — the season
  21. hand — in cards
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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