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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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Word bank
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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: cue · toast · hide · degree · vault · bark

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bark — to shout
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. cue — a hint
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cue — for pool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cue — a signal
  18. degree — temperature

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