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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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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 · swing · degree · capital · racket · wax

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — to play on
  6. degree — an amount
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. capital — a city
  15. swing — music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wax — to grow

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