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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: cold · suit · degree · kick · vault · wound

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — to fit
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — in football
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. suit — clothes
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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