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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: calf · kick · vault · degree · hide · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. vault — a safe
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — temperature
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kick — in football
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kick — with a leg

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