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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: shower · wind · board · vault · degree · lean

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lean — thin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. lean — to bend
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. board — a committee
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. board — to get on
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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