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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: court · band · vault · pound · leaves · tube · degree · kick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kick — in football
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. band — a ring
  7. court — of a king
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — of law
  10. tube — a container
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. band — a music group
  20. pound — a weight
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tube — the underground

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