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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lean — thin
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. court — of law
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — an amount
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. vault — a safe
  17. kid — child
  18. lean — to bend

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