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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kid — child
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — a tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — from a university
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stand — to bear
  20. court — of a king
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. stand — for spectators
  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