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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. vault — a safe
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. kid — child
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. face — to confront
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kid — to tease
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stem — to come from
  21. face — part of the head
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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