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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 · root · snap · vault · bulb · hand · spring · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — for light
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. degree — temperature
  10. root — the cause
  11. spring — of water
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. snap — to click
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — the season
  17. root — of a plant
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. root — of a word
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. hand — help
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. spring — a coil

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