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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: rock · vault · degree · wound · hide · bat · wake · craft

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rock — music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — an amount
  16. craft — boats
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hide — animal skin

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