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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: can · hand · court · vault · bark · press · track · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. press — a publisher
  3. hand — in cards
  4. press — to push
  5. bark — to shout
  6. can — a tin
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. track — a song
  10. court — of law
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. track — to keep track
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. degree — temperature
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — a path
  22. court — for sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. can — a tin

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