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

Word bank: rush · vault · wind · fall · march · degree · chest · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fall — to drop
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — music
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — the month
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. vault — a safe
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pit — in a race
  24. wind — moving air

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