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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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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: spring · face · wake · vault · object · racket · cold · degree

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. face — to confront
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — an illness
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wake — a trail
  9. object — a thing
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. object — an aim
  12. face — to point toward
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — the season
  18. vault — a safe
  19. object — to protest
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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