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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: vault · bound · craft · degree · cold · stand

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. vault — a safe
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bound — obliged
  12. stand — to bear
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — the Cold War

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