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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: mark · fan · hide · degree · band · drill · chest · vault

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a ring
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mark — a trace
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. drill — army training
  10. vault — a safe
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. drill — the tool
  15. degree — an amount
  16. band — a music group
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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