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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · snap · degree · vault · fall · chest

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — a box
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — the season
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. degree — from a university
  11. vault — a safe
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — music
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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