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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: march · snap · degree · vault · fall · chest · bass · charge

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to click
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — a safe
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. march — music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. charge — in control
  16. bass — low music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. charge — a price
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. charge — electricity
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — a box

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