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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: straw · snap · field · calf · deal · degree · vault · shower

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. shower — rain
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. deal — to handle
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to click
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — temperature
  24. deal — an agreement

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