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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: arm · rule · vault · band · club · degree

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rule — a law
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. rule — government
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. club — for golf
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. club — a group

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