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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: degree · mouse · cold · date · wave · vault · season · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. vault — a safe
  3. degree — from a university
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. swing — music
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. date — the fruit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. season — of the year
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wave — with your hand

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