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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: press · last · club · vault · degree · bark

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. club — a group
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. club — for dancing
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for golf
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bark — to shout
  16. press — a publisher
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on

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