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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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Word bank
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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: degree · pop · game · fork · snap · vault · root · plane

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. plane — a tool
  5. root — of a plant
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. root — the cause
  8. game — a match
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. degree — an amount
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pop — to visit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pop — soda
  16. root — of a word
  17. snap — to click
  18. pop — music
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — wild animals
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fork — in a road

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