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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — help
  8. race — a contest
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rash — a series
  17. chest — a box
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mug — a face
  22. race — humankind
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mug — a cup

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