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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: lean · kid · fork · ground · racket · degree · shower · vault

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — in a road
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ground — a position
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. ground — crushed
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — an amount
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — thin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — from a university
  21. vault — a safe
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kid — child

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