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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: press · vault · net · foot · degree · kid

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — for catching
  9. foot — a measure
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — to tease
  14. vault — a safe
  15. net — after costs
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. press — a publisher

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