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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 120 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: cold · track · mate · rush · vault · bear · chair · degree

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. track — a song
  4. mate — a partner
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. track — a path
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rush — hurry
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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