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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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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: degree · cap · wind · vault · trunk · wave · chair · last

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. last — final
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. last — to go on
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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