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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 116 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. last — final
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — from a university
  6. kid — child
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. last — finally
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — an amount
  18. game — a match
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — to go on
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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