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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: rash · object · degree · pit · kid · vault · game · stem

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. object — to protest
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rash — hasty
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rash — a series

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