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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spring — a coil
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — of water
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. kick — in football
  14. hand — help
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. toast — bread
  21. vault — a safe
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spring — the season

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