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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: court · foot · degree · race · stand · vault

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stand — to bear
  5. court — of a king
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. race — the arms race
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — of law
  18. foot — a measure

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