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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: deal · shower · march · vault · dip · degree

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. dip — to sink
  5. march — music
  6. deal — to handle
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — an amount
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. vault — a safe
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — from a university
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — temperature
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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