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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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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 · snap · vault · content · bass · bay · cold · season

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — of the year
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. season — in sport
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. content — the amount
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bass — the fish
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. content — happy
  16. bass — low music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. cold — an illness
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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