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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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Word bank
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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: vault · hide · court · pound · rash · degree

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. degree — from a university
  3. court — for sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rash — hasty
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — of law
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. court — of a king
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rash — a series
  18. degree — temperature

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