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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: vault · board · degree · rule · spring · rest

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rest — a break
  3. board — a committee
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rule — a law
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — the season
  9. rule — government
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spring — a coil
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — from a university
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spring — of water

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