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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: vault · land · rash · stick · kick · degree · wax · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. season — of the year
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. season — in sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. land — to come down
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rash — hasty
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. rash — a series
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kick — with a leg

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