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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · patient · swing · vault · straw · degree

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. vault — a safe
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. swing — in golf
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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