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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: wind · plane · degree · kick · vault · lean

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — to bend
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — thin
  17. plane — a tool
  18. kick — a thrill

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