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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — an amount
  5. vault — a safe
  6. dip — to sink
  7. court — of law
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — in cards
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — for sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — a trail
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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