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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: cap · kick · pop · degree · patient · vault

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pop — soda
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — a safe
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kick — in football
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kick — with a leg

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