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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: fork · arm · spell · band · vault · degree · wind · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. band — a music group
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. band — a ring
  9. cue — a signal
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. spell — magic
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fork — in a road
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. vault — a safe
  24. wind — moving air

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