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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bark — to shout
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wax — to grow
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — for sport
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. degree — from a university
  24. vault — a safe

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