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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — a safe
  14. hand — help
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ground — a position
  20. kid — child
  21. hand — in cards
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of a car

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