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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: current · cell · vault · bear · roll · race · degree · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. race — humankind
  3. roll — a list
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. current — happening now
  8. degree — from a university
  9. current — of water
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — an amount
  15. current — electric
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — a contest
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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