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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: kick · fall · hand · land · content · saw · degree · vault

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — in football
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fall — to drop
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. land — ground
  18. vault — a safe
  19. saw — the tool
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — to come down
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kick — a thrill

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