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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 120 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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Word bank
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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. kick — in football
  6. cap — a lid
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — to tease
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — an amount
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cap — of ice
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. foot — a measure

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